SLPSurveyOccupational therapy international2020

Predictive Ability of Future Anxiety in Professional Decision-Making Skill among a Syrian Refugee Adolescent in Jordan.

Ola Al Hwayan

PMID 32292305

WHAT IT FOUND

High future anxiety was linked to weaker professional decision-making skills in 227 Syrian refugee adolescents.

Anxiety explained 33.1% of the variation in decision-making. Girls showed better decision-making skills but lower anxiety than boys.

Key findings

01Future anxiety was high (mean 3.52) and professional decision-making was moderate (mean 2.83) in the sample.

02Future anxiety, gender, and achievement significantly predicted professional decision-making, with anxiety explaining 33.1% of the variance.

03Girls had significantly higher professional decision-making scores than boys, while boys had significantly higher future anxiety.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs

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What it does not show

The study used researcher-adapted tools that were not validated for Syrian refugees, relying on pilot data for reliability. The cross-sectional design cannot prove that anxiety causes poor decision-making; both may be influenced by other factors. The sample was limited to tenth-grade students in specific public schools in Jordan, restricting generalisability. The authors interpreted the negative correlation as decision-making reducing anxiety, but the direction of causality is unclear.

Declared interests

No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.

The easy way to misread this

Do not assume that improving decision-making skills will reduce future anxiety. The study shows a negative correlation, but the cross-sectional design cannot determine whether anxiety impairs decision-making or if poor decision-making fuels anxiety.

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